Monthly Archives: March 2020

cremation services in Seattle, WA (2)

Creative Uses for Ashes After Cremation Services in Seattle, WA

One of the advantages of choosing cremation services in Seattle, WA is that you and your family have more options for honoring your loved one. While our staff is available to plan a full memorial, we also offer a basic cremation package that is ideal for those who want to handle a personal memorial at home or at a meaningful location.

Whether you choose traditional cremation in our powerful cremator or the eco-friendly Aquamation ashes, cremation ashes are sterile and safe and can be used in many creative ways. In this article, we’ll look at some unique ways these ashes can be used to celebrate your loved one’s life and passions.

Ink and Paint

If your loved one was artistic in life, they can continue to help those closest to them create after their passing. Cremation ashes can be mixed into art or ink and be used to paint a tribute or write a letter or a sheet of music. Ashes are neutral in color and won’t affect the texture of paint or ink if mixed smoothly.

An Eternal Tribute

One of the most popular options for cremation ashes is to have them made into jewelry, especially diamonds. We can put you in touch with a third-party jewelry company that takes cremation ashes and compresses them into small diamonds. These near-indestructible stones will last and make an eye-catching piece of jewelry, eliminating the risk of an urn being spilled.

Out With a Bang

For those whose loved ones lived life on the wild side, there’s a more explosive option for honoring them. Third-party companies can create fireworks that incorporate cremation ashes, making it possible to turn the remains into a dazzling display. This is a perfect way to end a memorial service with a tribute that lights up the night sky.

Love on the Skin

Because cremation ashes are sterile, there is no risk to the skin from having them incorporated into tattoo ink. If you’re someone who likes skin art, it’s increasingly common to get a tattoo honoring a departed loved one. Some tattoo parlors can take cremation ashes and mix them into the ink used for the tattoo, creating a permanent and meaningful tribute.

A Towering Tribute

For our eco-friendly clients, there are few things more inspiring than a fast-growing tree. That’s why companies are now offering a line of biodegradable urns that incorporate the ashes into a container holding seeds. When planted, the urn slowly breaks down and the seeds are released, growing into a tree that incorporates the remains. For generations to come, loved ones will have a living reminder of their loved one.

These are only some of the creative options that can celebrate your loved one’s legacy, and when you choose Seattle, WA cremation services we’re happy to help you pull off the perfect memorial. Contact Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory to set up a consultation at our offices at 4567 Rainier Avenue S, Seattle, WA, 98118, or reach us on our website or by phone at (206) 722-1100.

funeral homes in Seattle, WA

Benefits of Working With Funeral Homes in Seattle, WA

When planning a funeral or celebration of life, there are many things to keep in mind to make fond lasting memories. This can be overwhelming for a family dealing with grief, which is why funeral homes in Seattle, WA stand ready to support you in this difficult time and provide the professional experience you need for the perfect memorial. When you work with Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory, here are some of the benefits you’ll get.

Experienced Staff

A business is only as good as the people running it, and the point of entry for our business is our experienced funeral director. A funeral director’s dual responsibility is to provide comfort and compassion in a difficult time while also serving as a professional who knows the ins and outs of funeral planning. Our funeral director is backed up by a skilled team of technicians who prepare the body and run our crematory, ensuring your loved one is treated with the utmost respect.

Quality Products

Whether you choose burial or cremation, we believe your loved one’s final resting place should reflect the love you had for them. We offer a wide line of classic caskets coming in a variety of styles, and they serve as an ideal centerpiece for a dignified memorial. For those who choose cremation, we offer a catalog of artistic urns that can be inscribed for a personal touch and are ideal for a permanent place on your mantle.

Flexibility and a Personal Touch

Every life is unique, and we believe a funeral or memorial service should reflect that individuality. We’re happy to work with clients to develop personalized tributes that decorate the chapel, ranging from things as small as crafts made by the departed to as large as beloved motorcycles. For those who choose cremation, we can divide the ashes as the family desires, placing them in jewelry or vials for distribution among the loved ones.

Special Cases

At our funeral homes, we work with clients who have unique needs and want to customize their funerals. Our multilingual staff is ready to work with a diverse local base and incorporate cultural traditions into memorial services, and we’re a popular choice for those who want to bring their own effects to the memorial process.

Our staff is also well-versed in working with the military, and we can arrange military funerals that accommodate the standard and enhanced military details. We’ll obtain the military-issued headstone and burial flag without you having to deal with government red tape.

Green Options

Many clients who choose cremation are looking for a carbon-neutral option, and our Aquamation option is just as effective without the burning process. It uses an alkaline solution to reduce the body to bone ash without the powerful cremator. We also offer a line of green urns and caskets for those who want to lay a loved one to rest without impacting the environment.

If you’re looking for an assist in planning a burial or memorial service, Seattle, WA funeral homes can help. Contact Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory at our offices at 4567 Rainier Avenue S, Seattle, WA, 98118, or reach us on our website or by phone at (206) 722-1100.

cremation services in Mercer Island, WA

Frequently Asked Questions About Cremation Services in Mercer Island, WA

Many people are choosing cremation as an alternative to traditional burial when planning or pre-planning funeral services. Some of the advantages of cremation services in Mercer Island, WA include savings on traditional burial and a smaller footprint that allows for creative uses of the remains. At Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory, our experienced funeral home director and staff are ready to answer your most commonly asked questions about cremation.

Can I Still Have a Funeral With Cremation?

Yes, our cremation packages include options for all the amenities that come with traditional burial. Before the body is cremated, we offer the change for the loved ones to visit, and after we’ll arrange a full memorial service according to your wishes. Cremation services can be as involved or as basic as you want, and our basic cremation package is an ideal choice for those who want professional care for the body but are planning a private memorial at home.

What Are the Advantages of Aquamation Versus Traditional Cremation?

Traditional cremation is done in a cremator, a powerful oven that burns the remains down to sterile bone ash. With an oven that goes up to 1,800 degrees fahrenheit, the process is done in under an hour. Aquamation is an alternative that uses an alkaline solution to break down the body and speed up the process of decay. While it takes longer – an average of two and a half hours – it produces the same result and has a lower carbon footprint for environmentally-minded clients.

Can I Have the Remains Buried or Interred?

For clients who have a family plot or crypt, a common concern when choosing cremation services is whether they can keep the family together. It’s common for cremation containers holding the ashes to be placed underground in a ceremony similar to a burial, or in an above-ground mausoleum. This offers the benefits of a fixed place to gather, but with a smaller space footprint and a lower cost.

What Are My Options for Storing the Remains?

If you choose to take the remains home, the most common option is a large centerpiece urn that can sit on a mantle as a way to keep your loved one close. The urns come in a wide selection of artistic designs and can be personalized with inscriptions. For those who want to divide the remains between multiple loved ones, we offer smaller urns or vials that can be worn on the person. We can also work with third-party companies to arrange for the ashes to be turned into jewelry.

Is It Safe and Legal to Scatter the Ashes?

Many clients want to scatter the remains at a place that was meaningful to the departed. We offer a selection of scattering urns to make this easier. Cremation ashes are sterile and can be safely scattered, and there are no laws governing the scattering, so any public place should be acceptable. If you have a private location in mind, consult with the owners first to arrange a scattering.

We’re happy to answer any other questions you might have at a consultation about cremation services in Mercer Island, WA. Contact us in person at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory at our offices at 4567 Rainier Avenue S, Seattle, WA, 98118, only a 15-minute drive from Mercer Island, or reach us on our website or by phone at (206) 722-1100.

Mercer Island, WA funeral homes

Planning a Veteran’s Funeral With Funeral Homes in Mercer Island, WA

When a veteran passes on, their families are often brought comfort by seeing how the military values their loved one’s service. A full military funeral is an inspiring thing, and when you work with funeral homes in Mercer Island, WA, we’ll work with the military to deliver an intimate but impressive memorial. At Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory, no detail is left unfinished when setting up a military funeral with honors.

What Is Included in a Military Funeral?

Every military funeral consists of the playing of Taps and the presentation of a folded United States Flag. This will be done by a military detail of at least two members of the Armed Forces, assigned as a funeral honors detail. At least one member of the detail will be from the branch that the deceased represented, and the level of honors will be determined by the veteran’s status. We can accomodate full military honors, a 7-person detail, and standard honors.

Who Is Eligible for a Military Funeral?

Every United States military veteran who served in combat or in peacetime is eligible for a military funeral if they were discharged in a way other than dishonorable. This includes former military members who completed a term of enlistment or required service, including those who were discharged due to injury or medical condition.

To establish veteran eligibility, we recommend obtaining a DD Form 214, which shows the date and status of the veteran’s discharge from the military. This form can be obtained from the National Records Center. Members of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are also eligible.

What Does the Government Provide?

The government will provide a burial flag and a headstone free of charge for everyone eligible for a military funeral. Headstones will come inscribed with the name, lifespan, and details of service and come in granite and marble. Flat markers are also available in granite, marble, and bronze. The headstone or marker can be placed in a military cemetery free of charge or in a private cemetery by arrangement with the owners.

The burial flag provided by the government can be draped over the casket or accompany the urn for those who choose cremation. It will be presented to the next of kin or the person designated by the veteran.

Can I Personalize a Military Funeral?

Yes, and this is one of the big advantages of working with funeral homes rather than directly with the government. We can fuse the ceremony and respect of a military funeral with the personal touch you’re looking for. The wake and ceremony can include a customized tribute to the life you loved one lived before and after their time in the military, and conclude with the military honors that celebrate their contributions to the Armed Forces.

If you’re looking to plan a military funeral for a loved one or pre-plan your own honors, Mercer Island, WA funeral homes can help. Visit us at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory at our offices at 4567 Rainier Avenue S, Seattle, WA, 98118, only a 15-minute drive from Mercer Island, or reach us on our website or by phone at (206) 722-1100.